Council approves funding to encourage green, sustainable technology in King County

December 14, 2009

Summary

Grants are backed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Story

King County received a financial boost in its efforts to promote green technology in the region with today’s adoption of legislation by the Metropolitan King County Council accepting $7.1 million in federal funding for clean, energy-efficient projects.

“Each of these projects is an investment in our future,” said King County Council Vice Chair Jane Hague, who sponsored the ordinance. “By using the funds to stimulate the clean vehicle industry, we not only are going to create jobs but we will also contribute to a cleaner future for our children.”

“I was pleased to join with local leaders from across the country through Climate Communities to advocate for including these grants in the federal stimulus package,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, who is National Co-Chair of Climate Communities. “Now that effort will pay off in King County as we apply the funding to greener infrastructure and green jobs.”

The funding is backed by Federal grants as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The Department of Energy’s Petroleum Reductions Technology Program awarded the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition (PSCCC) a $15 million competitive award on August 26, 2009. King County is a major partner on this project, and will be provided $1,540,000 of the total award to cover the incremental costs to purchase 28 hybrid Azure Dynamics minibuses that will be used in the King County Metro Transit ACCESS paratransit fleet.

The remaining amount of the purchase price of these vehicles will be funded in the proposed 2010 Transit budget. Other funding from this grant for the King County Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Fleet Division will allow the purchase of hybrid vehicles, as well as funding for additional electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Details of this funding will be negotiated with the Clean Cities Coalition and the DOE. The Clean Cities grant will allow DOT to reduce operating costs by reducing fuel consumption, help King County achieve its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and address climate change, and help stimulate the clean vehicle sector. The expenditure of this grant will not increase county costs.

In addition to the Clean Cities Grant, the ARRA of 2009 also appropriated funding for the DOE to award formula-based grants under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program. King County is anticipated to receive a total of $6,141,000 from this program. The grants are funded by the ARRA of 2009 and are divided into the following two programs:

1. The Petroleum Reductions Technology Clean Cities Program will enter into an agreement with the Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition (PSCCC). King County, in a sub-grantee role, will receive at least $1.54 million upon completion of negotiations between the PSCCC and the United States Department of Energy (DOE).
2. The DOE has entered into an agreement with King County to allocate funding from the EECBG Program. The agreement was approved September 29, 2009 and $300,000 of the $6.14 million was awarded. The remaining funds will be made available for expenditure as DOE approves individual project budgets and a grant administration allocation.

The DOE requires these funds be used to:

• Reduce fossil fuel emissions;
• Reduce the total energy use of the eligible entities;
• Improve energy efficiency in the transportation, building, and other appropriate sectors; and
• Create and retain jobs.